Rod 2.0:Beta

Omar Epps Spotted Boasting That He Has 16" and a Hard ...

... Hard drive. What did you think we were talking about?

Omar Epps is spotted looking quite fit in the new GQ in a full page advert for the Toshiba Satellite. I've had my ups and downs with that brand but if Omar wants to show his hard(drive) ...

WATCH: Anti-Gays Ramp Up Scare Tactics in Kalamazoo Television Ad

Ordinance 1856 in Kalamazoo, Michigan is one of three gay rights measures that will be decided in tomorrow's election. The heavily-funded opponents of the proposed anti-discrimination ordinance ramp up the fear tactics in its new television ad. The spot shows men stalking little girls in public toilets, which has become almost standard operating in these campaigns to stoke transphobia. The Michigan Messenger reports there is a "relentless focus on gender identity" from the opponents of the ordinance and "very few open transgender men or women have been quoted in traditional media outlets covering the campaign in Kalamazoo."

The spot is nearly identical to one used by opponents of a similar anti-discrimination measure in Gainesville, Florida earlier this year. That was rejected by the voters. Let's hope Kalamazoo voters also ignore the hysteria and do the right thing. 

Via AMERICAblog Gay, watch the spot AFTER THE JUMP.

Dominique Hollington and Pharrell Williams for Gap F/W 2009

Now this is major. Model of the moment Dominique Hollington is featured with Pharrell Williams in the Gap 40th anniversary F/W 2009 campaign. Awww and he's smiling, too.

WATCH: Maine Marriage Equality Foes Ramp Up Scare Tactics

The Yes on 1/Stand for Marriage Campaign launched its third television spot last night in Maine. More lies and fear tactics around children and "homosexual marriage", which guidance counselor and noted anti-gay activist Donald Mendell says "strikes at the heart of the Sacraments."

Watch, via JoeMyGod, AFTER THE JUMP.

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Oraine Barrett for Swiss Army by Richard Phibbs

Supermodel-to-be and Rod 2.0 fave Oraine Barrett bundles up for Swiss Army. The new campaign was lensed by Richard Phibbs, who also photographed Oraine's cover of OUT and Andrew Howe's obscenely gorgeous sporno  for Vanity Fair Italy.

Evan Ross and Nelson Nieves, the New Faces (and Bodies) for K-Swiss

Actor and Hollywood "it" boy Evan Ross is the new face for K-Swiss apparel. This two-page ad spotted in the new GQ. In addition to the print campaign, Ross can also be spotted on the footwear manufacturer's website.

Ross can be currently seen in Life is Hot in Cracktown, cast opposite Kerry Washington's intense portrayal a drug-addicted pre-op transgender prostitute.

The Evan Ross campaign come as K-Swiss wraps its successful S/S 2009 campaign with Red Models' red hot Nelson Nieves, who walked in that fabulous Sean John runway show. The print and billboard campaign has created a buzz, oh, maybe because most of the images sport a bare-chested Nieves. WHEN YOU JUMP, for those who haven't already seen them, a few more images of Nelson Nieves. Only if you're into oh-so-hot Latin boyz with abs, pecs and some hair on their chest.

Terrell Owens' "Honey Nut" Cereal Sold Out Within Hours

Wheaties are no longer the "Breakfast of Champions", or, at least the Buffalo Bills. Terrell Owens' brand new breakfast cereal, "T.O.’s Honey Toasted Oats" debuts and is flying off the shelves before it even arrives.

Ty Ballou, president and CEO of the cereal's producer, PLB Sports, tells NEWSWEEK: "By next week, the initial wave—we have two truckloads—will be gone."

Football diva slash reality sporno star Terrell Owens says he has never been happier. "Noting he’s never had a food named after him, Owens said having 'this beautiful handsome face' on the cover is better than making it on a box of Wheaties."

The "handsome face" is aiight but you can't help but wonder if another photo would sell even more boxes of Owen's, umm, "honey nut" toasted oats. AFTER THE JUMP, VH1's nude portraits of the football star. And what does T.O.’s Honey Toasted Oats' taste like? Well if it tastes anything like the way he is built ...as Tony the Tiger says, "Mmm tastes great!"

Black Pastor Rents Texas Billboard: "Gay Rights Are Not Civil Rights"

The only billboard in the Central Texas town of Gatesville (pop. approx. 15,000)  has become a lightning rod of controversy. A retired black minister rented the sign on Main Street that reads, "Gay Rights are Not Civil Rights". The sign owner, Virginia Miller, tells the  Dallas Voice the pastor "wanted to get the message out to black people .. everything they fought for is being hijacked."

The message was paid for by Oen Dollins of Gatesville, a former minister. Miller said Dollins didn’t mean to offend anyone. "He wanted to get the message to black people that it’s not fair that they’re the ones who suffered, they’re the ones who paid the price, and now everything they fought for is being hijacked." Miller said.

Miller also claimed she’s received death threats since reports about the sign appeared on Instant Tea and on KCEN Channel 9 in Waco. She said Dollins paid $300 for the message to appear on the sign for three days, from Sunday through Tuesday, and it was taken down last night. Miller said her husband, Bo, carefully screens advertisements for “the Sign” and typically doesn’t allow anything negative. But Bo Miller told Channel 9 that he approved the message because he felt Dollins was making a valid argument.

The billboard, known in Gatesville as "The Sign", first made news earlier this week when a reader emailed photos to the Voice and added: "Hate is alive and well deep in the heart of Texas." KCEN-TV interviewed some residents and one black woman said she had no problem with the sign because "as a Black woman, because I have been through ...I know what it feels like and it’s totally different."

Dollins repeats this popular talking point by anti-gay black Christians: "No gays are having to ride on the back of the bus. No gays are being enslaved. No gays are being prosecuted [sic] in any way."

The Rev. Kevin E. Taylor, New Jersey-based pastor, black gay activist and author, scoffs at the "foolishness of trying to destroy the history and might of the movement." Rev. Kev adds: "Civil rights are about freedom for all.  Dr. King said so masterfully: 'Until all of us are free, then none of us are free and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!' "

The problem is two-fold. "Gays" and "blacks" are stereotyped as mutually exclusive because black LGBTs are often reluctant to come out—read hundreds of comments here, here or here—and continue to embrace the closets of the anti-gay black churches

So saying "no gays never had to sit on the back of the bus" would be true .. only if you believe all gays are white. Just ask Bayard Rustin or any black gay or lesbian who grew up or were openly gay during Jim Crow. Better yet, if you really believe that no gays, lesbians or trans are being prosecuted (or persecuted) "in any way"' ... ask Tony Randolph Hunter,  Lawrence King, Sakia Gunn, LaTeisha Green, or Michael Sandy. Or the black gay college students killed in Newark. Take a trip to Nigeria. Or Jamaica. Or Russia ...

Introducing Chadwick Johnson

Your Saturday Morning Hotness: Introducing Chadwick Johnson, Los Angeles-based trainer and fitness model.

The ridiculously fit and symetrical model—and Certified Personal Trainer—says he "dedicates 10-12 hours per week exercising in the gym." It shows. As my aunt says, Chadwick Johnson has "muscles in places most of us don't even have places." WHEN YOU JUMP, much more of the Chadwick hotness.

Adopt a Black Child Campaign Debuts in San Francisco's Castro

Thanks to Alicia Banks for the heads up: In San Francisco's overwhelmingly vanilla Castro District, a startling oversized billboard debuted several days ago that features a black gay couple and child. It reads: "I Never Knew How Proud I Could Be."

The PROUD campaign is created by Better World Advertising. Critically-acclaimed  San Francisco-based photographer Duane Cramer brought the initiative to life with his vision. The goal is to get is to get black families—whether single parents, or LGBT or straight couples—to adopt black children. the campaign's footprint will be considerable—large billboards, adverts on Muni, BART, coffee sleeves and print ads that will blanket the Bay Area over the next year. Duane Cramer adds: "There will be a large float and contingent in the San Francisco Pride parade."

The debut in the overwhelmingly white Castro was no accident, Duane Cramer tells Rod 2.0. "As you know, the Black population in San Francisco is very low, maybe 6% or 7%.  The ad is of two gay men who just happen to be Black.  We, as black people, are so used to messages and ads featuring whites ... and we have to figure out how we choose to buy into the product, idea or messaging.  This time the opposite will hopefully happen."

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